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An astronomy and space entrepreneurship festival is now in its second day at Karabuk's Keltepe Ski Center, attracting families to its premises.
The event is organized under the Astronomy Network and hosted by the Karabuk Municipality and the Karabuk Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports, in collaboration with Garaj X TEKMER and the TOBB Ankara Young Entrepreneurs Council.
The festival aims to bring together basic astronomy, sky observation, space entrepreneurship, and the art of astrophotography under one roof, combining space entrepreneurship with a sky observation camp.
On the festival's second day, workshops for children, talks on astronomy and space, and various other activities are being held.
Visitors who took part in hands-on workshops throughout the day attended sessions on topics including "Astronomy in Turkish Mythology," and "What Do Astronomers Do?" "The Art of Building Imagination" and "A Journey into the Depths of Space."
Ozkan Saglam, who came to the festival from Bartin, said that they came because of his son's interest in the sky. He noted that they had previously attended sky observation events organized by TUBITAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) in Uludag, Bursa.
"We had come to Keltepe before for skiing in winter, but this is our first time coming during this season," he said. He added that they had found the area even more beautiful this season and said he hoped the event would become a tradition and reach more people.
"I believe this support will make local events much more productive in the future," he added, noting that it is easy for children to research the sky and access scientific data, but harder to put that into practice. "We had a telescope, but we can no longer use it because it became insufficient," he said.
Saglam added that the festival gave them the chance to see more professional telescopes. "Astronomy is a very mysterious science, and that mystery excites children," he said. "It's wonderful for our future that these kinds of scientific events continue."
Ozkan Saglam's 10-year-old son, Ali Kerem Saglam, said the festival was both fun and educational. "My imagination develops as I learn new things here," he said, adding that he tries to take part in every activity he can. "Being curious about the sky and learning about it is really wonderful," he said.
Mustafa Ulucay, who came from Ankara with an off-road group, said his family is interested in camping and off-road sports. He noted that while they had previously come to Keltepe in winter for off-roading and skiing, this time they were there for stargazing.
Noting that Keltepe's winter atmosphere is very different, Ulucay said they were now excited for the sky observation.
"Many of our friends in the group will perhaps be getting this close to the sky for the first time, seeing stars and meteors up close," he said. "Our children, our spouses, all of us are excited," he added. "We're waiting for it to get dark so we can watch the stars."
The festival, which will continue in the evening with a sky presentation and meteor observation program, will conclude tomorrow.
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